waytoomanybooks's reviews
140 reviews

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had to read this for class, and I found the religious and philosophical themes fascinating. It gives great insight into the anxieties and interests of the time period. I was more entertained by it than I thought I would be as most texts I've read for school have been quite dry.
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Daisy Miller by Henry James

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adventurous emotional lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a quick read with a lighthearted plot and bittersweet ending. It’s a small slice of ice story of society and societal expectations of American and English life in the 1870s. Frivolity, gaiety, and over-familiarity were quiet restricted, as you'll see play out in the plot.

An added bonus of this text is that you can knock this book out in a couple of hours and boost your read count for the year!
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Seize the Day by Saul Bellow

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was an extremely painful read, which made it difficult to read. It was unfortunately very relatable, too. Don't read this during a depressive episode like I did. Huge mistake on my part. It started off sad and just got sadder and sadder. I’m genuinely not sure what message the author was trying to deliver here other than "life sucks and then you die."
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Passing by Nella Larsen

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A unique and fascinating classic novel. It's easy to get sucked into Irene and Clare's world of secrets. You really feel for the two women, even when they are hard to like or love.

For what it's worth, the movie follows the book to a tee!
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Clover by Dori Sanders

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A short, slice-of-life story told from the perspective of an orphaned ten-year-old girl who has to adjust to navigating her life around her new step-mother. 

I wish we had seen Clover interact with more of the characters instead of just thinking about them or telling stories about them. No one seemed all that concerned over the fact that Clover was orphaned and that Sarah Kate was widowed by the car accident.

It's a mediocre book. I’m not to proud to admit that I finished reading just for the sake of adding to my book tally for the year 😅
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Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

This memoir will resonate with anyone who’s been in treatment. If you know, you know. 🌻💛
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One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It was engaging, emotional, sexy, funny, sad, and sweet all the way through. I could pick it up and put it down and easily drop back into the story until I had another spare moment. The characters feel very real. I even teared up a few times! It's been a long time since I've read a book that so beautifully tells a story. I love McQuiston's way with language, and I love the queer representation. It's definitely worth the hype.
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Oroonoko by Aphra Behn

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Its difficult to give this book a star rating. This was assigned to me for a college course that is focused on early British literature. At first, I appreciated the opportunity to read something from a female author and an early example of a traditional novel. However, as the story went on, the content became more and more gruesome, and my enthusiasm for the text vanished.

The story is a very graphic depiction of an enslaved person's life on a plantation in the 1680s. And you get a cross section of everything that comes with that. The last third is especially difficult to get through. From a purely academic perspective, it's a good representation of early white supremacy, colonialism, slavery, the slave trade, racism, bigotry, misogyny, etc. And all within just sixty pages.

Don't read this book if you don't have to.
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The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.
I was assigned this book in my Contemporary Queer Literature class, and I and several of my classmates told our professor that we couldn't and wouldn't finish reading it. The book steps out of "gritty realism" and veers into "tragedy, trauma, and grief porn" a la A Little Life. Every character in the novel is graphically raped multiple times. Every underage character at one point or another enters into a "relationship" with an adult. Every character at one point or another becomes a prostitute. There is even a character that had a mummified corpse in their closet. This is not an exaggeration. I'm not putting this behind spoiler tags because I think everyone should know about this before reading it. I wish I had known! Upon realizing that we weren't going to finish the book, our professor said that if we found the first third to be horrific, then we certainly shouldn't finish the book because it "gets worse."

Grief, loss, trauma, death, rape, etc. are unfortunate parts of life, but the author seems to take almost ghoulish delight in hurting characters who are based on real people. Don't read this book.
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Dawn by Elie Wiesel

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I hesitate to review this book because saying it's "good" or "moving" or "powerful" seems inadequate and lacks the nuance this book requires. It's an important narrative from an author who is coming from a perspective that isn't given the value and respect that it is owed. It's a difficult read, but an important one. 
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